Sasuke
by Team Kaka-Sensei
Summary: AU. When Naruto and Sakura learn that their favorite manga, Sasuke, has been put on hiatus, they are devastated. On one fateful night they find a young man unconscious in the middle of street, only to discover its none other than Sasuke Uchiha, the main character from the series. Has a fictional character come to life? Team 7 love, eventual NaruSakuSasu OT3. Don't like, don't read.


A/N: I've been playing around with this idea for a while but was very hesitant to actually write and publish this. I'm much more comfortable with one-shots, and I don't see this as being a one-shot, which means it _will _be a chaptered fic. How many, I have absolutely no idea. I have a vague idea of where I want to take this, but we'll have to see if my writing will be able to take it there. Fingers crossed!

Rating: T for swearing and some violence.

Pairings: Team 7 friendship, eventual/implied NaruSasuSaku OT3. Not a love triangle.

Disclaimer: Written purely for fanfiction. In no way associated with Masashi Kishimoto, K-Books or Shonen Jump. I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_Sasuke_

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Naruto, hurry up! We're already running late and you _know _how long the lines get!"

Said boy rolled his eyes and slung his school bag over his shoulder, increasing his leisurely pace into a light jog to catch up with his pink-haired companion. "Alright, alright! I'm coming! Geez, Sakura-chan, I'd say you're more excited for the release than _I _am. And that's saying a lot." Naruto teased, bumping the girl lightly with his elbow, blue eyes filled with mirth.

Sakura attempted to scowl at him, but the effect was ruined by the grudging smile that battled for dominance. "So what if I am? You're only saying that 'cause I'm a girl, _aren't you?" _Her eyes narrowed in accusation. She leaned towards the blond menacingly. "Are you being _sexist?" _

Naruto gulped, backing away from the intimidating girl. "O-of course not!" He squeaked. "Girls can like it too! I think it's awesome that you do, Sakura-chan! Honest."

Sakura smirked, resuming her brisk pace out of the school yard and onto the street. It was Friday, and school had just finished for the week. A rush of eager high school students fled from the building, chatting amiably with friends, making plans for the weekend. Naruto and Sakura were anxious to leave school as well, but for a different reason.

Five minutes, three more arguments and much pushing and shoving through the afternoon crowd later, the two teens found themselves in the heart of the city. Cars honked in traffic, pedestrians waited at crosswalks for the walking signal, and store fronts flashed neon lights in hopes of stealing customers attention.

Despite all the metropolitan glamor, Naruto and Sakura had eyes for only one shop.

K-Books Manga. The largest manga store in this part of Japan. Even from their position across the street, they could see the rows upon rows of manga stacked inside the walls. Above the open store front, a bright neon decal rested, kanji reading the establishment name. Above that, a 20 foot poster was hanging, displaying the protagonists of the best-selling mangas. There was a pink-haired boy wearing a vest that showed off his sculpted abs, a ginger boy in black robes brandishing a sword and a hat-wearing boy with a huge grin taking up his entire face.

The biggest character of all, though, easily taking up half the poster, right smack in the center, was a boy with raven hair, a chokuto in hand, electricity surrounding the other and menacing blood red eyes.

"Sasuke," Naruto and Sakura whispered.

Without further ado, the duo raced across the street. Just as Naruto was about to cross the threshold of K-Books, a hand roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him back. "Where the hell do ya think you're going, kid?" A harsh voice demanded.

An older, middle-aged man with a protruding belly was glaring at Naruto, grasp on his arm painfully tight. Naruto blinked, dumbfounded. "Uh, inside?" He pointed sheepishly. The man laughed. "Yeah, so am I, and so are all the people waiting behind me." He gestured with his chin over his shoulder. Sakura and Naruto looked past him to see a line of about 30 people trailing down the sidewalk. "Get in line!" The man released Naruto carelessly and turned his attention back to the store.

"Asshole," Naruto grumbled as he and Sakura walked to the end of the line, gingerly rubbing his sore arm. Sakura sighed. "I told you there was going to be a line."

"Yeah, whatever," Naruto brushed the incident aside. His eyes wandered back to poster with Sasuke glaring at every innocent person who walked under him. His demeanor suddenly changed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hey, Sakura-chan, what do you think is going to happen in this chapter? Do you think Sasuke is gonna be able to defeat the Juubi and Madara? Or will Obito brainwash him into joining their side?"

"Hmm," Sakura pondered, adjusting the strap of her school bag. One arm crossed her chest to the grasp the elbow of the other, her free hand rising up to tap her chin. It was her signature thinking pose. "I don't think he's strong enough to defeat Madara, the Juubi _and _Obito. Sure, Sasuke got the Eternal Mangekyo Sharigan and Susano'o, but remember, he's fighting two other Uchihas. They're all extremely powerful."

"Plus," she continued. "The whole shinobi population is out to get him. They still think he's a criminal and missing-nin." Her brows furrowed and she shrugged. "And, well, he still kinda is." Sakura met Naruto's gaze. "He's just following his own whims at the moment, getting revenge for Itachi."

Naruto was positively buzzing with excitement, deep blue eyes shining. "But that's the thing, Sakura-chan! Itachi is _alive! _None of us know how yet, but that was the huge plot-twist last chapter!" Naruto insisted, gesturing wildly, nearly hitting the two young boys in line in front of them. "He's gonna go meet Sasuke at the battle field and help him defeat the bad guys! Then he can save Sasuke from his darkness!"

Sakura giggled at Naruto's eagerness. "It makes sense. Kishimoto-sama hinted at Itachi being alive, anyways, because after Sasuke's battle with him he awoke in a cave with Obito. We never found out what happened to Itachi's body." Her green eyes misted over. "I can't imagine how poor Sasuke-kun will react when he finds out the loving brother he thought he killed is actually alive." She sighed dreamily, hands cupping her face. "My poor baby," she crooned.

Naruto made a face at her antics. "_Sasuke-kun?_" he scoffed. "He's a fictional character and you act like you're in love with him."

Sakura blushed, scrambling to pull herself together. "S-shut up!" She pelted Naruto with her school bag. "You're just as obsessed with Sasuke as I am, baka! Always drawing him on your school notes and homework, _which you never do!_"

"Ow!" Naruto yelped, covering his abused head. Sakura was a lot stronger than she looked, and the textbooks in her bag didn't help. "I'm not _obsessed _with Sasuke! I'm just practicing my drawing. You know I wanna be a mangaka one day. The best there ever was!"

The blond teen with strange whisker markings on his cheeks stood tall, flashing a toothy grin. "Naruto Uzumaki, remember that name! It'll be super famous one day! Believe it!"

Sakura smiled softly at the sight of her long time best friend, previous anger and embarrassment suddenly forgotten. Cheeks dusted with a light pink that complimented her hair, the girl grasped Naruto's hand and tugged him forward. "Come on, loser, we're up next!"

Naruto gasped and sputtered, eyes widening at the sight of Sakura holding his hand. Unable to respond, he allowed her to guide him under the store, goofy smile intact. Sakura weaved her way through the shelves, heading for the center of the store where they usually kept the latest Sasuke chapter and merchandise. After circling the display numerous times and even checking the alphabetical and shounen sections for the manga with no sign of the chapter, Sakura, with Naruto in tow, approached the cashier.

"Um, excuse me," Sakura began. "Where is the latest Sasuke chapter? I wasn't able to find it."

The turned his attention toward her. "What's that? Sasuke? Oh, you must not have heard," he said, tone grievous. Sakura felt her blood run cold. Naruto squeezed her hand in support. "For some unknown reason, Kishimoto-sensei canceled the release of this week's chapter, and the series is on hiatus until further notice."

There was a beat of silence. Then,

"WHAT?!"

The cashier jumped at the loud exclamation from the two enraged teens. "It's the truth! You can read it on his website. I'm so sorry." The man placated, walking off quickly to avoid their wrath.

"How can this be?" Naruto raved, releasing Sakura's hand to reach up and pull at his hair. "They can't do this! _I need to know what happens next."_

Sakura was not in much better spirits, leaning against the nearest wall, arms hanging loosely, head bowed. "What am I supposed to do now? I _lived _for Fridays. They got me through the week."

Good moods completely killed, the friends left K-Books, dragging their feet the whole way, and headed for the nearest subway entrance. Those they passed by on the streets gave them wide berth, seeing the dark aura surrounding the two devastated teens. No one words were spoken between the two until they were seated on the train.

"My life is over," Naruto stated, staring listlessly out the window, walls of the subway a blur as the train sped down the tracks.

"Mine too," Sakura agreed, leaning to rest her head on Naruto's shoulder. "Do you still want to come over and work on homework? I kind of don't want to be alone right now..." She trailed off, refusing to meet Naruto's gaze.

The boy smiled down at her, then rested his cheek on top of her pink head. "Of course, Sakura-chan." He chuckled, the rumble felt all along the part of Sakura's arm that was touching him. "Besides, I didn't even know we had homework."

"Naruto!" Sakura chastised, kicking his foot.

They got off at the stop for Sakura's house and spent the walk in the suburban area talking about school, plans for the weekend, and to their chagrin, Sasuke.

"I'm telling you, it's going to be Obito who ends up as the jinchuuriki for the Juubi!" Naruto insisted.

Sakura huffed, hands on her hips in defiance. "Oh, and what makes you so sure of that? Madara is the more powerful of the two. He's pulling the strings."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but he's not really alive. He just in Edo-Tensei form and is at Obito's mercy, waiting for him to use the Rinnegan to bring him back to life."

"Exactly!" Sakura interjected, finger pointed in his face. "He can't die, because he's already dead! He's invincible!"

Naruto opened his mouth to argue, when suddenly there was a resounding crash not 10 feet from them. Sakura let out a high-pitched "Eep!" and jumped, startled. Naruto flinched, instantly on alert. The noise came from their right, where there was a group of dumpsters in an alley between houses. The street lights cast the area in shadow. He reached out and pushed Sakura behind him. "Stay back, Sakura, it could be dangerous."

Sakura scowled. "Ex_cuse _me? You know very well that I am fully capable of defend-"

"What's that?" Naruto interrupted, pointing to a figure emerging from the shadows.

Slowly walking from behind the dumpsters was the silhouette of what appeared to be a young man around their age. He seemed to be stumbling slightly, hand covering his face. He looked like he was in pain. He walked further, finally coming under the light of the streetlamp. He was pale, with hair as black as the shadows. He was in dark trousers and a zip up shirt with a wide collar. Some object was attached to his hip.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. Was that a sword? And... _a bow?_

"Hey!" Naruto called out. "Are you okay?"

At the sound of his voice, the stranger quickly snapped to attention, raising his head to see who had spoken. When they finally got a glimpse of his face, Sakura and Naruto gasped in unison.

He had sculpted, aristocratic features, the kind of intense and harsh beauty that artists tried to capture. Bangs framed his face, adding further to his mysterious look. And his eyes -

Were blood red.

"Sharigan," Naruto whispered in disbelief.

"_Sasuke," _Sakura echoed.

They stood rooted in place. Surely there was a mistake. A trick in the lighting, perhaps, or contacts, because there was no way a fictional manga character was here, in the flesh, standing before them.

Right?

Within the next second, the stranger - who happened to look like the spitting image of the namesake of the most popular series in the country - collapsed in the street.

That snapped them back to their senses. "Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, rushing forward to help the boy. "Naruto, wait! It could be dangerous! We don't know who this guy is."

Naruto ignored her, kneeling next to the unconscious teen. Reaching out tentatively, Naruto pushed his body to roll him onto his back, exposing his face. Up close, the uncanny resemblance was mind-blowing. The young man looked like he had literally walked right out the pages of the manga.

Sakura approached warily, crouching next to Naruto. "Is he alright?" Sakura questioned. Her eyes took in his appearance. He was wearing the signature garb of Sasuke in the comics - tall and wide collar shirt, nin pants, purple belt (bow), and shinobi sandals. He even had the wrist sleeves on his forearms and his weapon of choice, a chokuto.

His exposed skin was dirty with dried sweat, dirt and what looked to be blood. There were many cuts and garish bruises littering his body. "Oh my god," Sakura worried. "Was he attacked?"

"I don't think so," Naruto answered, eyes intense. "At least... not here."

"What do you mean?"

"Sakura-chan," he began, tone serious for once. It compelled her to listen. "I think this guy... is Sasuke. The real Sasuke."

Green eyes widened. "What do you mean? How is that even possible? What if he is just some cos-player? With... a really good costume?"

"Then how do you explain this?" Naruto pushed aside the arm bands to reveal markings on the boy's arms. They weren't drawn on with sharpie or pen, so either they had to be tattooed on, or they were, "Seal markings." Sakura breathed out. "Just like in the manga."

Naruto nodded. "Look," he gestured to a pouch hidden in the folds of clothing. "Kunai and shurikan pouches. I bet you anything there's real weapons in there."

"But, but-" Sakura stammered, at a loss. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around the idea that a _fictional _character was real. Much less unconscious, in front of her. Without speaking, she reached out and rolled the boy over again.

On his back, displayed proudly, was the red and white fan of the Uchiha clan.

"Oh my god," Sakura whispered, bringing her hand to cover her mouth.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto shook his head and blinked rapidly, as if to clear away anything hindering his vision, or perhaps to make whatever illusion was upon them disappear.

"What do we do with him - Sasuke?" Sakura asked, saying his name slowly. It was weird to use it when referring to an actual, tangible human being. "We can't leave him lying out here."

Naruto thought for a second, then looked her in the eye. "Your parents are gone for the weekend, right? Out of town again?"

"Yes," she answered wearily, not liking where he was heading.

"Well, we can't take him to my house, because Iruka-sensei is there, and for some reason I get the feeling that we shouldn't call the authorities. I don't think he'd appreciate that."

Sakura gaped. "You want me to take a complete stranger to my house?!"

"He's not a stranger, Sakura-chan! Not really. It's Sasuke Uchiha!" Naruto gestured to said boy.

"And that makes it okay?" Sakura shook her head. She could feel a headache coming on. "You know what, forget it. Fine. Whatever. We'll take him to my house, but just until he wakes up!"

Naruto beamed. "And if he tries any funny business, we're calling the cops!" Naruto laughed. "Sure thing, Sakura-chan! But I doubt any of our lame police would be able to take on Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *

Sakura collapsed on a recliner, utterly exhausted. After a full day of school, rushing to K-Books, then hearing her favorite manga was on hiatus _and _encountering the main character of the same manga was enough to make anyone tired. And confused as hell.

Naruto finished placing the unconscious boy on the couch in Sakura's living room. He sighed. "What now?"

Sakura ran a hand over her face, then stood up. "I'll go get my first aid supplies and try to clean him up. He looks really beat up." Her voice betrayed her concern.

"Alright, I'll go get something for us to eat and drink." He left for the kitchen. Sakura snorted. Leave it to Naruto to think about food in a situation like this.

Sakura retrieved the first aid kit from the bathroom cabinet, then returned to her patient. He was in the same position that Naruto had deposited him in, sprawled on her couch.

Sasuke Uchiha. Missing-nin from Konoha. The avenger. On her couch.

"This is so bizarre," Sakura mumbled as she set to work.

Since the age of 16 she had been taking supplementary courses at a nearby medical prep school. She had always aspired to be a great surgeon, like her mother, Mebuki Haruno. She had pestered her parents till they gave in and agreed to pay the fees and send her to the school. Sakura was their only child and they had a hard time saying no to her.

Sakura placed her index and middle fingers along Sasuke's throat, checking his pulse. His BPM was normal. That was a good sign. She reached into her first aid kit and pulled out a small flashlight. Clicking the device on, she pulled up one of Sasuke's eye lids and aimed the light into eye. The pupil dilated. Another good sign.

Grabbing a gauze pad and a bottle of alcohol, she went about cleaning up his minor wounds. Naruto returned from the kitchen, the aroma of freshly cooked ramen reaching her across the room. Of course. Naruto sat next to Sakura on the floor, placing Sakura's bowl of ramen on the coffee table behind them. "Is he okay?" He asked as he readied his chopsticks in preparation for devouring the ramen.

"His breathing and pulse are regular, and he doesn't appear to have a concussion."

"That's a good thing, right?" Naruto inquired around a mouth full of noodles.

Sakura made a face at his lack of table manners. "Yes, it is. He probably passed out from exhaustion."

Naruto nodded and set down his already halfway finished ramen. "How do you think he got here, Sakura-chan?"

A frown adorned her lips. She had been wondering the same thing. Say this really was Sasuke Uchiha, a character from a comic book. How did he come to life? How did he get here? Why was he beat up? Was he lost? What were they going to do with him? There were so many questions.

"I don't know, Naruto," she replied softly, pausing in her ministrations to reach up and brush Sasuke's bangs away from his face. "He's not even supposed to exist."

Right before her fingers made contact with raven hair, a hand shot up in a blur and grasped her wrist in a steel-like grip. Sakura gasped, following the trail of the hand that held her captive down the arm, to the body of the boy who was supposed to be unconscious.

Sasuke Uchiha was very much awake now, dark eyes blazing with unrestrained fury and suspicion. Sakura barely had time to take in her next breath when, with incredible speed and skill, Sasuke jumped to his feet on the couch, crouching low, and used his free hand grab the hilt of his sword. In the same movement, he hauled Sakura towards him, pining her back to his chest. With deadly grace and precision, he brought cold steel of his sword to rest on her neck.

It all happened so fast that Sakura felt faintly dizzy from the movement. Naruto sat, wide eyed and unmoving.

There was a pause, each person present hesitant to break the silence. Then, true to his nature, Naruto was the first to speak.

"What the fuck, you bastard! Let Sakura-chan go! She wasn't hurting you!" Naruto stood, intent on saving the girl.

"Make one more move and I'll slit her throat."

Naruto froze, glaring at Sasuke.

"Who are you? Where have you taken me?" Sasuke questioned, seething eyes set on Naruto. He met it head on, unwavering.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and that girl whose life you're threatening is Sakura Haruno. We're at her house."

"Why did you kidnap me? And how?" Sasuke interrogated.

Naruto growled. "We didn't kidnap you, jerk! We found you unconscious and took you here so you wouldn't have to lay defenseless in the middle of the street!"

He took a step forward. "Listen, Sasuke -"

"_Don't move._" The ninja threatened tightening his hold on Sakura. She whimpered in response, and Naruto saw a little drop of red trickle down her throat from where the sword met skin.

"How do you know my name? Where is this place? You two certainly aren't ninja, your chakra reserves are at civilian levels."

"In a country called Japan. We're about a mile from the city, in a suburban area. And -" Naruto paused in his explanation, a hesitant and slightly afraid look on his face.

"And?" Sasuke prompted him to continue.

Naruto took a deep breath. "And I know your name because - well, here, in this country, in this universe, you're... Sasuke, you're not real."

The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"He means that to us, you're a character from a story. A fictional character." This had come from the pink-haired girl, who had been silent up until now. Her voice was feeble, carefully pressing on.

Sasuke snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"It's true!" Naruto, forgetting Sasuke's death threat, grasped a book lying on the coffee table. "Look!" He shoved it in front of the shinobi's face.

At the sight of his face on the cover of a book, Sasuke gradually loosened his hold on Sakura, forgetting his anger. Taking advantage of her release, Sakura rolled away from Sasuke and stood by Naruto on the other side of the table. Her hand rested at the cut on her neck.

"What is this?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. It was a white cover, and at the top in Sharigan red was his name, Sasuke, in big letters. Depicted on the cover was a shot of him sitting against a wall, one knee propped up, arm resting on it. He was staring off into the sky, expression pensive.

Wordlessly, Sasuke opened the book and flipped madly through the pages. It was full of pictures, pictures of _him_, of his _life. _The pictures were showing the period of time when he had just killed Orochimaru, and was traveling to his different bases, recruiting the members for Team Hebi. It was eery, the way the pictures captured every moment, as if it was taken right from his memory. The conversations, every word, were spot on.

Sasuke dropped the book as if it burned him. "What is the meaning of this? Who has been spying on me? Who do you work for?" He pointed his sword threateningly at the two strangers.

"No one is spying on you, Sasuke!" Naruto defended, not the least bit affected by the sword. "What we said is true! You're a story book character! You're not supposed to be real! We're just as confused as you are!"

The boy scoffed and stepped off the couch, moving forward. The two backed up in response. "This is bullshit. I don't have time to deal with this. I need to find Itachi. You will let me leave." He commanded, tone leaving no room for disagreement.

Blond eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But Itachi is -" Sakura elbowed Naruto in the ribs. He huffed in pain and rubbed the offended area. "Sakura-chan, what was that for?"

"We can prove it to you, Sasuke!" Sakura ignored the question. She whipped around and headed for the television, switching it on. Immediately on the screen Sasuke's name appeared, an exact replica of the title on the book. Slowly it faded off screen, an image of his face replacing it. His eyes were closed, head bowed. They opened the next instant, Sharigan activated. Loud music began playing, a female voice singing a haunting tune.

A myriad of images flashed by, images of _him_, running, fighting, staring off into the distance, wind sending leaves and his hair askew. The menacing smile of Orochimaru appeared for a heartbeat, then was eclipsed by a huge fireball. From the corner of the screen Sasuke appeared, having finished his Katon. Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo were shown, looking demure, mischievous and mournful respectively.

Sasuke slowly lowered his sword, tentatively approaching the TV, eyes wide and unblinking. He fell to his knees. The ninja forgot about Naruto and Sakura. He forgot about being in a foreign place, feeling worse for wear, chakra levels so low they were almost nonexistent. He could only stare at the screen and watch as an animated version of himself paraded on screen, looking every bit as vicious and vengeful as he did in real life.

The music was reaching its climax, female voice reaching high notes orchestrated to stir feelings of remorse and loss within the listener. Itachi was on screen, Mangekyou peering omniscently at the viewer. He and Sasuke fought, and the last scene showed them leaping towards one another, Itachi with a kunai in hand, Sasuke holding his chokuto. Right before their weapons clashed, the screen faded into white.

The music ended. An advertisement for some kind of food came on. Sasuke remained kneeling, not seeing the images in front of him. Sakura and Naruto were silent, but he could feel their pitying gazes on him, hear the unspoken sympathy in the air. He hated it. He hated this - this place. He couldn't stay here. He needed answers.

"Sasuke," Naruto prompted, voice low, meant to be reassuring. To Sasuke it sounded mocking.

Without warning, Sasuke rose and jumped, crashing through a window to the right of the TV. He landed in the yard and with a quick survey of the area - more houses to the left and right, but an empty street beyond the fence - he leaped over the fence and vanished into the night. The last he heard from inside the house was two voices calling out his name.


End file.
